Ore-feeder.



T. SUTTON.

ORE FEEDER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 16,1912.

1,047,589, Patented Dec. 17, 1912.

WITNESSES: v [NI/EN r01? m fl I i I Zia/ms 6UTTOJY ORA/EV COLUMBIAPLANOGRAPN co.,\vAsH|NG'r0N. n. c.

. THOMAS SUTTON, 0F SONORA, CALIFORNIA.

ORE-FEEDER.

fipecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.17,1912.

. Application filed May 16, 1912. Serial No. 697,658.

To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS SUTTON, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Sonora, in the countyofTuolumne and State of California, have invented a new and use fulOre-Feeder, of which the following is a specification in such full andclear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to construct and usethe same.

This invention relates to an ore feeder especially adapted to thefeeding of wet and sticky ore.

An object of the invention'is to produce a feeder which will operatewith as little power as possible owing to the fact that the feed chuteis inclined at an angle such as to make the weight of the ore assist inthe feeding operations, a screw being used to prevent the ore fromfeeding too rapidly.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the feed maybe completely discontinued Whenever it is desired to cut off the feedwithout in any way disturbing the proper regulation of the feed when itis desired to again begin, feeding material to the mill.

A further object of the invention is to provide a feeder which will besubstantially watertight thus enabling water to be fed with the ore. I

Other objects of the invention will appear asthe description proceeds. I

In the drawings in which the same numeral of reference isapplied to thesame portion throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a sideelevation'of the feeder, Fig. 2 is a plan View of the feeder, Fig. 3 isa view partly in section of the feed wheel and wrench for turning thesame, Fig. 4: is a view of a portion of the feed wheel looking at theend of the wrench for turning the same and showing also a portion of thelever for operating'said wrench, Fig. 5 is a view of the spring andadjusting device forvarying the feed, Fig. 6 is a plan view of thebracket used for supporting the adjusting mechanism and also showing aportion of the lever for discontinuing the feed, and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a portion of the outlet end of a feederillustrating a method.

of operating the feeder where a rotating shaft is used in the place ofthe ore stamp. p The numeral 1 represents a substantially rectangular,inclined feed chute, at the upper end of which is placed a feed hopper2. This feed hopper is connected with the I feed chute by means ofsuitable bolts and has a gasket 3 to make a substantially water tightoint wit-h the feed chute.

Extending through the feed chute isfla shaft, this shaft passing througha pack ing gland and bearing of the feed chute. Within the feed chutethe shaft supports a feed screw 6 substantially as large as the insideof the chute.

The lower end'of the shaft is jo-urnaled in a box 7 supported by adepending arm 8 secured on the top of thefeed chute at the lower endthereof. This shaft carries a flanged wheel 9 which is used for therotation thereof. The flanged wheel is rotated by means of a gripper 10:which has a, slot therein which fits over the flange of the wheel. Thisgripper will move freely in one direction, but when an attempt is madeto move it in the opposite direction it will rotate the flanged Wheel.This gripper-is supported on the end of a lever 12, and the lever ispivoted on a bracket 13 secured on the side of the feed chute by meansof bolts.

5 at the upper. end" chutethrough aslotted head of the adjusting boltl4, a washer 15 surrounding said bolt and bearing upon the underside ofsaid lever. At the forward end the lever is curved over so-that it willliesubstantially in the center of the, chute, the object being to havethcfeeder operated from the central 7 stamp of a five stamp mill when soused. The gripper for turning the flanged wheel is supported on theshort end of the lever between two soft rubber bumpers 15 and 16, sothat notwithstanding the fact that said lever moves in a curved pathinstead of in the plane of the flanged wheel that a certain amount offreedom of movement of I said gripper is permitted. It is to be notedalso atthis point that a heavy feed may be accomplished when the feedscrew is rotated one full turn with 200 movements of Therefore, a 7single movementof said lever moves the the lever which operates it.

feed gripper such a small amount that the fact that it moves in a curvedpath while 7 the flanged wheel isinoving in a difl'erent path, makes nodifference. a

. The adjusting mechanism comprises a lever 17 pivotally supported onthe side of the feed "chute 18. Near the upper end of the feed chutethere is a bracket 19 uponwhich the lever 17 rests, said brackethaving'an upwardly extending flange, 20, which prevents the lever 17from moving laterally off the same, unless it is first raised by liftingthe handle 21. Then so lifted the lever can be moved laterally asufficient amount to miss the bracket 19 and which will then drop downuntil the curved portion of the feed lever will touch the top of thechute and the latter will then be low enough so that the operatingdevices cannot cause the feed of material to occur.

The feed lever is supported in a given position by means of a spring 22,saidspring having a washer bearing upon the top of the same and bearingupon the top of an adjusting nut 2 1-, which rests upon a bracket 25secured to the lever 17. The bracket 25 is slotted as indicated at 26 toreceive and support the adjusting nut 2t. A lock nut 27 secures thegiven adjustment which is accomplished by drawing down upon a bolt 28having a slotted head 29, through which slot the movable feed leverpasses.

I11 operation the stamp tappet strikes the feed lever, depressing itagainst the spring 22, thus lifting the gripper a small amount to rotatethe flanged wheel. Similarly re peated blows move the flanged Wheelentirely around and cause the ore to travel through the feed chute tothe grinding mill.

With roller mills there is seldom a recip rocating bar which can beoperated as with a stamp mill, in which event it is necessary to providethe feeder with a device of the character shown in Fig. 7. In thisfigure the feed chute is shown at 30, the feed screw shaft at 31, thelower bearing for supporting said shaft at 32 and the support for saidbearing at 33. On the side of the chute is showna portion of the lever34 which is substantially the same as the lever 17 in the other form ofthe invention.

At 35 is indicated the feed lever which passes through a slot in theadjusting bolt 36 and which rests upon the washer 37. The washer 37 issupported by the spring 38 which latter is supported on the bracket 39and fixed in a given adjustment by means of lock nuts 40 and 41,substantially the same as in the other form of the invention.

The chute running to the mill is shown at 42. In this instance the lever85 is shorter than that used with the form of the inven tion shown inFig. 1, and a bearing 4L3 on the top of the feed chute supports a shaft44, said shaft having a cam 45 thereon which strikes the feed lever 35whenever the shaft 44 turns around.

It will be observed that one of the especial advantages gained by thisform of feed regulator is that it will feed a very wet ore, and sincethe chute may be inclined to any amount deemed necessary thatinclination thereof assists in the feeding of the ore, thus requiring asmaller amount of power than is commonly the case. It will also be seenthat another a vantage of this invention lies in the fact that it ispossible to completely cease feeding without altering the adjustment ofthe lock nuts which determine the feed so that when it is desired toagain begin feeding all that is necessary is to lift the lever 21 up onthe supporting bracket 19, whereupon the original adjustment will occur.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. In an ore feeder, an inclined chute, a feed screw therein, means tointermittently operate said feed screw, an adjusting device fordetermining the amount said feed screw is to be rotated at eachmovement, and a lever pivoted on the side of the casing and supportingthe adjusting mechanism, said lever being capable of a downward movementto discontinue the movement of the feed operating mechanism,substantially as described.

2. In an ore feeder, an inclined chute, feed mechanism therein, aflanged wheel for operating said feed mechanism, a lever pivoted uponthe side of the casing and having a gripper to intermittently rotatesaid flanged wheel, a spring upon which said lever rests, means toadjust the position of said lever to determine its throw, a leverpivoted upon the side of the chute for placing the first lever in anoperative or inoperative position, and a fixed support for the movableend of said lever when the first lever is to be placed in an operatingposition, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of May A.I). 1912, in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

THOMAS SUTTON. Witnesses C. P. GRIFFIN, L. H. ANDERSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

